Orthodox Dogmatics (44)

This well-known bishop calls for a worshipful attitude towards God, towards people and towards life. A penetrating discussion between "The Atheist and the Archbishop"— Anthony Bloom`s famous television discussion with Marghanita Laski — on the essence of Christian faith and life opens this book of five selections. Summarizing the Christian life in terms of worship, joy, and the challenge to grow into a full stature, Metropolitan Anthony calls for a worshipful attitude to life.

This book is a general account of the doctrine, worship and life of Orthodox Christians by the author of the now classic The Orthodox Church. It raises the basic issues of theology: God is hidden yet revealed; the problem with evil; the nature of salvation; the meaning of faith; prayer; death and what lies beyond. In so doing, it helps to fill the need for modern Orthodox catechism. Yet this book is not a mere manual, a dry-as-dust repository of information. Throughout the book, Bishop Kallistos Ware shows the meaning of Orthodox doctrine for the life of the individual Christian. Doctrinal issues are seen not as abstract propositions for theological debate but as affected the whole of life.

The late Professor John Romanides developed a critical and highly original Eastern Orthodox approach to Christian theology. He identified his approach with the Christian Roman ecumene that was centered in Constantinople, New Rome. His views on Christian "Romanity" and "Roman Orthodoxy" have earned him the title of "Prophet of Roman Orthodoxy" and have given rise to a school of committed followers and to much discussion. This book is Romanides` first Outline of Orthodox Patristic Dogmatics, which is published for the first time in the original Greek and in English translation. It represents a concise introduction into his understanding of the basic tenets of the Eastern Orthodox Faith and its fundamental differences from those of Western (Augustinian or Franco-Latin) Christian theology. It covers such doctrines as God`s relation to the world, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of the Church, the Church`s Holy Tradition and the restoration and perfection of humanity in and through this Tradition. It will serve as an introduction into this theologian`s original vision of Patristic Orthodoxy, which is the basis of his reappraisal of Christian theology and history. Its value lies in its concise, coherent and comprehensive character.

Father Thomas Hopko states in his Foreword: ...Those who are serious in their seekings, whether their theological and spiritual convictions, are obligated at some point to come to terms with Fr Sergius Bulgakov. The results for the courageous cannot fail to be enlightening and inspiring: perhaps not in the ways that the Russian thinker imagined but in ways known to the Master he served.

The second volume by one of the leading Orthodox Theologians of the 20th century. Covering themes of the creation of the visible and invisible world, with a section devoted to angels. With chapters on the creation of humanity, the Fall, and the existence of evil. Fr. Staniloae was convinced that any theological development of the theme of the world represents... a new discovery of the active presence of God in human history.

Orthodox Dogmatic Theology is a book written with one purpose: to inspire, to warm the heart, to lift one above the petty preoccupations of earth in order to glimpse the divine beginning and end of all things. This has always been the purpose and intent of theology: to give one the energy and encouragement to struggle towards God and our heavenly homeland.